He said 119 were found to be in compliance. One offender has not yet been located and is still under investigation.

"Overall, there's very good compliance in Leavenworth County," he said.

Dedeke said he was pleasantly surprised by how high the compliance level is.

He said the compliance check was conducted Thursday through Saturday in partnership with the U.S. Marshals Service and U.S. Parole Office.

By law, the Sheriff's Office maintains a registry of convicted sex offenders in the county. During the verification operation, officers contacted registered offenders at their most recently reported addresses.

Some people who are convicted of violent or drug crimes also are required by law to register as offenders. But Dedeke said last week's operation focused only on registered sex offenders.

The sheriff said there are right at 140 registered sex offenders in the county. But of the 20 who were not part of the verification operation, some have had recent contact with the Sheriff's Office. And Dedeke said some are known to be incarcerated.

The U.S. Department of Justice and Marshals Service provided equipment and overtime funding for the officers involved in the operation, according to Dedeke.

If it's determined the person who hasn't been located is not in compliance, information will be submitted to the Leavenworth County Attorney's Office for possible charges.

Two other registered offenders were arrested during the operation for unrelated warrants, according to Dedeke.

The sheriff said the operation provided a good baseline for his office. He said officials plan to continue random checks of registered offenders.

He said officials are discussing doing a similar operation for people who have outstanding arrest warrants.

People can search for registered offenders in Kansas by name or location by visiting the Kansas Bureau of Investigation website at www.kansas.gov/kbi/.

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